NEW DELHI, May 29 (Xinhua) -- More than 30 people have been killed and many others injured in thunderstorms and lightning in India, disaster management officials said Tuesday.
These deaths took place in the eastern Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand, and the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in the past 24 hours after heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds lashed them.
"While 12 people died in Bihar, including in Gaya, Munger and Nawada districts, 12 others were killed in neighboring Jharkhand, and nine in Uttar Pradesh. Some 28 people also sustained injuries in lightning and thunderstorm-related incidents in Jharkhand," an official said.
"Maximum deaths took place as the storm collapsed houses and electricity poles and trees fell on people," he added.
The Indian meteorological Department has predicted thunderstorms and heavy rains in Uttar Pradesh in the next 24 hours. "Rains and gusty winds are expected to lash the state again and scattered rains are expected in Bihar as well," a weather official said.
The weather department has predicted that rains will hit India in the next 24 hours, and bring rains in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Karnataka, apart from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
"Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea over these areas," the official said.